StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Equities researchers at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a report released on Sunday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BLK. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,103.08.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE BLK opened at $817.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $964.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $991.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.